birth to under contract to others.
'But no one, ever before, has been asked to decide the fate of a child,' he turned to gaze at Dr. Fletcher, 'kidnapped be-fore it was even born, and secretly planted in the womb of an-other woman.' Johnson rose to object to the prejudicial remark but hesi-tated. Maybe he would want equal latitude with his own open-ing statement. Letting the lawyer get away with it, however, was no guarantee that Czernek would reciprocate. He quietly sat down. It was worth the gambit.
Czernek pointed to Karen. 'The evidence will show that this woman-Karen Chandler-paid a surgeon several thousand dollars to `get pregnant.'' Ron made little quote marks with his fingers as he turned back to face the jury. 'She got preg-nant, all right. With a fetus ripped out of Valerie Dalton's womb and stitched into Karen Chandler's in a clandestine medical experiment carried out in the dead of night last March.'
Valerie lowered her head, a vortex of conflicting emotions seeking to pull her down into despair. She looked to her side to see that everyone-everyone-was staring at her, including the unwavering glass eyes of video cameras. She thought her heart would seize up and never start again. And Ron, the only one there who could sit beside her to put an arm around her, paced around telling his tale, unable to comfort her. Watched by all, she had never felt more alone.
'A medical experiment,' Czernek continued, 'that the facts will reveal had been performed on human beings without the approval of the hospital in which it took place. Without any basis in animal research or medical theory. In short'-he leaned over Dr. Fletcher-'an experiment that used Valerie Dalton as an unknowing guinea pig in a conspiracy to sell her stolen embryo to a woman willing and able to buy it!' Johnson sat quietly, gazing at his opponent with an unread-able expression. Inwardly, he burned with the desire to inter-ject his own statements. Just keep talking, he thought as he took notes without even glancing down at the paper. I'll tear you apart in my opener.
Ron took a deep, emotional breath and let out a sigh. The courtroom smelled of air-conditioned humanity and stale au-tumn air. His face became a mask of hurt. 'I can't pretend to maintain objectivity in this case. As Valerie Dalton's fiance and the father of her child, I am as much an injured party as she.' He leaned on the jury box rail to gaze at each person there as he spoke. 'Did Karen and David Chandler want a child to raise and love as their own? Then why didn't they adopt one? We shall show that this baby is as far removed from them geneti-cally as an adopted child. And Lord knows there are plenty of children rotting in orphanages who could use a little love and tenderness. No, their interests were not with the child itself.' He stared coldly over at the Chandlers. Karen buried her face into David's chest. He comforted her and stared back at Czernek, wishing looks could not only kill but maim as well.
'No,' Ron said. 'To them, the fetus they bought was simply an amusement. A way to play at being pregnant, at giving birth to a child. No matter to them that a woman had been invaded-raped, more accurately-to tear the living child from within. No matter that the true father and mother would never know their daughter, never even know that they had a daughter. No matter that the child could have died at any point in this out-rageous procedure. No, pregnancy at any price was the Chandler's goal, and they got it.'
He took a moment to calm his anger, flamed by his own well-rehearsed words. He faced the couple.
'But what hap-pens when the novelty fades? They've had the fun part. The baby showers, the expectation, the approval of relatives, and the excitement of anticipation. They've shared the ecstatic joy of seeing a life come into this world-a joy denied to the true father and mother-and now what? Now begins the drudgery of child rearing. Will they maintain an interest in the little gad-get they'd bought? Or will they lose interest, shunt Renata off somewhere while they pursue other amusements? Will they regret their purchase?'
David tried to suppress his anger, gazing up at Czernek. His head, held stiffly by his rage-clenched neck, began to tremble in an effort to remain still. Karen lowered her gaze to hide from the lawyer's eyes, convinced she had entered hell.
Ron turned back toward the jury. 'The evidence will show that-as we speak-the baby they call Renata lies in the infant intensive care unit of Bayside University Medical Center. She is deathly ill. Can Karen and David Chandler do anything to save her? No. She needed bone marrow from her nearest rela-tive. Is her nearest relative the woman who gave birth to her?' He pointed at Karen. 'It is not. Her bone marrow would at best do nothing to save the baby's life. At worst it could kill her.' Turning to Valerie, he said, 'The only person in the entire world who can save that little baby is right here in this room. Valerie Dalton, the real mother of Renata Chandler.'
Dead silence in the courtroom, the absence of any mutter-ing, let Czernek know that he had everyone caught up in the web he spun.
'You are here,' he said to the jurors, 'to make a simple choice. You are here to declare that a baby should not be cut away from its mother without her knowledge or consent. That brutal, unauthorized medical experiments have no place in civilized society.' He stared at Fletcher. 'And that Dr. Evelyn Fletcher should pay for the misdeeds she performed in full knowledge of their danger and impropriety.' He gazed at each member of the jury, silent for a long mo-ment. Every one of them, he was certain, had listened to and appreciated his statement. No sleepers or blockheads on this jury.
'Thank you.' He walked sedately to his table to sit beside Valerie, who-having waited for him alone in the crowded courtroom-clasped his shoulders and placed her head against him. The cameras zoomed in.
Judge Lyang avoided any show of emotion, though Czernek's arguments made sense to her. She wondered if Johnson had anything that might sound equally as compelling. It was not often that a judge usually stuck with family law cases had an opportunity to preside over a landmark suit. Yet this, she realized with a warm glow of satisfaction, is what she had entered the judiciary for.
'Thank you, counselor,' she said. 'Counsel for the defense may make his opening statement.' Johnson stepped in front of his table. 'Thank you, Your Honor.' He paused for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts.
